1. Field
The present invention relates to a drum washing machine, and more particularly, to a drum washing machine, which washes clothes, to be dry-cleaned, without water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, drum washing machines are apparatuses which wash laundry using the falling of water caused by rotating a drum. Each of the drum washing machines includes a housing forming an external appearance, a tub installed in the housing for containing water, a drum rotatably installed in the tub for containing laundry, a driving motor generating the rotary force of the drum, and a control panel provided on the upper part of the housing for manipulating a washing method according to the kind and amount of the laundry.
In a wet washing mode of a drum washing machine, a washing operation, a rinsing operation, and a dehydrating operation are sequentially carried out. When the washing operation is started under the condition that laundry is put into a drum, a water supply valve is switched on, and thus, washing water is supplied into a tub and the drum. Thereafter, the laundry is washed by rotating the drum using a driving motor so that lifters lift the laundry to a designated height, and then the laundry is dropped. When the washing operation is completed, a drain pump is operated, and thus, the washing water is drained. Then, a dehydrating operation is performed by rotating the drum at a high speed. When the dehydrating operation is completed, the water supply valve is opened again, and thus, washing water is supplied again into the tub and the drum. Thereafter, a rinsing operation is performed. After the rinsing operation is repeated, the last dehydrating operation is performed. Thereby, the wet washing of the laundry is completed.
In general, clothes as well as food and residences are inevitably vital to human beings. That is, clothes serve to keep off the cold and the heat and to protect the human body from various contaminants. Further, in society today, in which fashion is regarded as important, the maintenance and conservation of clothes is a matter of grave concern, and a neat and tidy appearance plays an important role in forming personal relations. Accordingly, it is important to maintain and conserve clothes hygienically by removing contaminants and bacteria from the clothes.
Some kinds of fiber shrink or expand when they contact water, and thus, clothes made of these kinds of fiber are deformed, napped, or seriously wrinkled and are not wearable after their contact with water. These clothes need to be dry-cleaned. The dry-cleaning method conserves the original state of the clothes and increases the durability of the fiber, compared with the wet washing method, thus lengthens the life span of the clothes.
In order to dry-clean clothes, the clothes must be sent to a dry-cleaner. Dry-cleaning charges are expensive, and thus, increase the customer's economic burden. In particular, the clothes of several persons are collected for dry-cleaning and are dry-cleaned all at once by the dry-cleaner, thus, potentially being unhealthy
Accordingly, there is a need for a dry cleaning method in which clothes are simply refreshed using a general drum washing machine at home.